Happy Black History Month, people.
Yeah.
That's right.
It's gonna be a really interesting Black History Month,
for multiple reasons.
Number one,
I think it's an interesting timing for Black History Month,
'cause, like, COVID, obviously.
And now people don't want to shut down the schools
but do want to shut down the schools.
But I realize this might help everybody.
You know? 'Cause, on the one hand,
you've got Black History Month,
which a lot of people don't like.
And then you've got, like, schools that are open,
which a lot of people also don't like.
But a lot of the people who don't like Black History Month
don't want the schools to be closed.
There's, like, an intersection.
So maybe that'll help now,
'cause they'll be in school and people will be like,
"We're gonna learn about Harriet Tubman today"
and be like, "All right, shut down the school. It's cool.
COVID. Send them home." (chuckles softly)
"Send them home."
It's interesting. You know what I'm-I'm excited for
this-this Black History Month?
Is how teachers are gonna teach everything
that they want to
without running afoul of, like,
the critics of critical race theory.
'Cause no one seems to know what critical race theory
actually is or isn't.
Teachers are afraid.
They don't want to get sued.
They don't want to lose their jobs.
Basically, like, during Black History Month,
every teacher is gonna sound like rap songs on the radio.
You know? They're just gonna have to, like,
edit all the parts out. They're gonna be like,
"Today, everyone, we're gonna be learning about,
"uh, Harriet Tubman and how she...
"and then she...
"and all they...
and then she lived happily ever after."
It's gonna be like-- Every story is gonna sound like that.
Just gonna be like, "All right, kids,
"here's the story of Martin Luther King Jr.
"He was born and then he-he-he...
"and he preached for a while and he was...
and then Barack Obama."
-♪ ♪ -ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from the heart of Times Square,
in New York City, the only city in America,
it's The Daily Show.
Tonight, no more rings for Brady.
We're all gonna die.
And Bakari Sellers!
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
Hey! What's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
And joining me for today's headlines
is our very own Roy Wood Jr.!
-What's going on, Roy? -What's up, man?
Happy Black History Month.
-Happy Black History Month to you, brother. -Yeah.
I like Black History Month, man,
'cause this is a time to reflect
-and think about our past... -Right?
...and everything that is important from the past.
Which reminds me, I don't know if I ever got
that-that $200 from you that you owed me.
You remember from the Super Bowl from two years ago when we bet
-and you said you was gonna Venmo. -I-I...
Yeah. I think it's good for us
to let the past stay in the past.
Happy Black History Month.
-(stammers) -All right, let's jump straight
into today's headlines.
♪ ♪
We kick things off with big news from the world of sports.
We're two weeks away from the Super Bowl,
the one day a year where men can express their emotions openly.
And one familiar face who won't be there this year
is Tom Brady,
quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
and dude with almost as many rings as Shang-Chi.
Brady has appeared in every Super Bowl
dating back to 1902.
I don't know if that stat is right.
Might be 1920.
But if it feels weird watching it without him this year,
you better get used to it.
Because he's never gonna be in it ever again.
Breaking news this hour-- seven-time Super Bowl champion
Tom Brady is retiring from football.
He removed all doubt. The 44-year-old quarterback
played 22 NFL seasons,
including 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.
He won seven Super Bowls.
I want to read from his statement here.
"This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes.
"I have loved my NLF career,
"and now it is time to focus my time and energy
on other things that require my attention."
"Other things that require my attention"?
That's a weird reason to retire.
It sounds like he's got, like, household chores.
"I've loved playing in the NFL,
"but I've got 20 years of laundry piling up,
so it's time to call it quits, guys."
But, look, whether you loved him or hated him,
you have to admire Tom Brady's journey.
I mean, when this dude started his career,
he was picked almost dead last in the draft.
And yet, he ended up dominating the game for 20 years,
which is an important lesson for all the little kids out there
who might be coming in last.
And that lesson is...
-this probably won't happen to you. -♪ ♪
See, this was only gonna happen one time,
and Tom Brady took it. I'm sorry.
So, if you keep coming in dead last,
you probably want to quit and do something else.
You got this.
Now, if we're being honest,
this retirement isn't a surprise to anyone, right?
What is surprising is that at 44 years old,
this dude was still dominating the NFL!
Think about it. The NFL,
Where people car-accident each other for a living.
And this guy was doing that in his forties.
Most people I know in their forties are like,
"Aah! Aah! My back hurts.
I think I slept too long."
And now that he's put up his cleats, the question is,
was Tom Brady the best football player of all time?
Some people say "yes" because he holds all the records
and won the most Super Bowls.
Other people say, "No, because he didn't do that for my team!"
So it'll be a big debate for a while.
But there's no doubt that he is a legend of the game.
So, congrats, Tom Brady, on a wonderful, wonderful career.
Although, sadly, it means that now Gronk has to be put down.
"Let's go out behind the barn, Gronk!"
(crying): "We're gonna take you someplace special."
(gasps)
You know what I... you know what I respect about Tom Brady,
for the most part, man,
is that he kept his scandals on the field.
You know, Deflategate with the ball,
and then, whether or not it was a Tuck Rule Fumble
-way back in the day. -Uh-huh.
Uh, honestly, I think, like, the MAGA hat in his locker--
that was the probably the biggest,
"Oh, we don't know about Brady."
No drug, no arrest,
-no drama getting arrested, none of that. -No.
Wife not murdered. His wife is very unmurdered.
All right, but let's move on to the hottest fad
on the Internet right now.
And, no, I'm not talking about hardcore pornography.
I'm talking about Wordle, the online puzzle game
that's turned your Twitter timeline
into a lame version of Tetris.
Wordle is especially interesting because of where it came from.
You see, it was just invented by one guy in Brooklyn
who just made it as a gift for his girlfriend,
which is really sweet.
Or a really subtle way to tell her
that she doesn't know how to spell.
I need you to brush up on your five-letter words.
You're really embarrassing me at parties.
Anyway, his vision for Wordle was
for it to be a simple, friendly game,
totally free, no ads, no app, and not addictive.
Just pure fun.
And yesterday, that vision paid off
when the New York Times announced
that it had bought Wordle from this guy
for more than a million dollars.
Which is great for the guy,
but now everyone else is wondering,
will Wordle still be free?
So CNN asked that question to the The New York Times,
and the answer was...
Uh... I don't know.
You guys-you guys tell me what you think.
NEWSMAN: Jonathan, I don't want to make this a hostile
interview, but you need to answer the question
that every Wordle user wants to know.
Will you commit, right here and now, that forevermore
in perpetuity, Wordle will be free to everybody?
(laughter) Thank you for having me. It's great to be here.
Um, and, yes, when the word-- when-when Wordle comes
The New York Times, it will be free to play for everyone.
That doesn't answer my question.
When it comes to The New York Times, it will be free.
How about five years from now, ten years from now?
I wish I had that kind of crystal ball, but I don't.
So you won't commit that Wordle will always be free?
Because it's free now.
That's right. It is free.
When it comes to the Times, it will be free and, um... yeah.
Well...
that took a weird turn.
I mean, at the beginning, he was like,
"(laughs) You gonna make us pay for Wordle?"
Then all of a sudden, he was like,
"Are you gonna make us pay for Wordle?
Answer me, bitch!"
You know how nervous the New York Times guy was?
'Cause in the beginning, he was like "(laughs) Yeah.
It's gonna be fun." And then, at the end, he was like,
"Look, man, just... please, man. Come on, man."
That CNN anchor has the skepticism of a guy
who's been burned by a drug dealer. You know?
He's like, "Wow, so this is totally free?"
And then a week later, he's like, "I see what you did.
"Yeah, I see what you did. Okay, I'll (bleep) your dick, but
I see what you did. You-you got me, man. You got me good."
Now, I don't know if you play Wordle.
I do. And, I'll be honest,
when I heard this, I was kind of sad.
Yeah, 'cause I was like,
does this mean that Wordle loses its purity?
You know? Like, now are we gonna have to pay to play,
or is the website gonna start tracking me?
Am I gonna start getting targeted ads for the letter F?
-You know? -Dude, you're asking the wrong questions, dawg.
You're asking the wrong questions. The question is
not whether or not Wordle is going to remain free.
The question is, will Wordle still be easy?
Have you tried to do a New York Times crossword puzzle?
I don't know none of them words!
And-and Wordle, that's-- Wordle,
th-that's the beauty of Wordle.
Wordle is for people that... they're kind of dumb.
I don't know all of the-- You know how many five-letter
words there are in the English language?
There's over 150,000.
In the Wordle database, there's only 2,500.
-Oh. -So it's just the dumb words!
It's j-- It's "good", "crank", "shift", "spark"-- Is that f--
I don't know. But I just know once The New York Times
get they hands on it, they gonna add all the words,
And then, "Oh, you got Wordle wrong today.
Today's word was 'causitchlegashk'."
-And I ain't with that. -(indistinct speech)
I just need Wordle to stay free and stay dumb.
Well, anyway, speaking of things that are popular online,
let's move on to today's most insane viral video.
It comes to us out of suburban Pennsylvania.
And, uh, if you were in the mood for dinner and a show
last night, well, this, my friends,
is where you wanted to be.
NEWSWOMAN: CBS Philadelphia says a massive brawl
broke out at a Pennsylvania Golden Corral restaurant
-over an alleged steak shortage. -(people shouting)
Former restaurant employee says he was told
that the fight may have started when the buffet
ran out of steak and a customer cut in line.
NEWSMAN: Take a close listen, and a man can be heard saying,
-"All I wanted was some steak." -All I wanted was some steak!
♪ America, America ♪
♪ This is you. ♪
This is how you know COVID is over for people.
Americans are ready to go indoors again
and fistfight over food!
We're back, baby! We're back! We're back!
Give me some of that lettuce, bitch.
I mean, the only silver lining in this story
is that the fight happened at a Golden Corral.
'Cause if that fight was at a Waffle House,
the high chairs would have still had kids inside them.
Did you see that guy throwing the chair, by the way?
He didn't throw... He just smashed the light...
You know where the light's like,
"I wasn't even involved in this shit,"
now the light is smashed-- why you throw it...
Also, a lot of people don't understand, like,
how to throw a chair.
Like, they think they know how to throw a chair.
Lot of people, you can see these were first-time chair throwers.
These were, like, buffet people, and then they were just, like,
the buffet has never not had the buffet.
They didn't know what to do.
You could see they were just, people just losing their minds.
(yells)
The itis Kicked in at that moment. Aah...
(crew laughing)
And I know Golden Corral was probably embarrassed by this,
but think about what a huge compliment this actually is
to the cooks in your kitchen.
Your steak is riot-worthy.
Yeah, right now the managers at Ruth's Chris
are probably yelling at their chefs, just like:
Why isn't anyone getting stabbed over our steaks, huh?!
Step up your game, people!
Step up your game!
I-I saw this, which-- oh, by the way,
sorry, but I don't know if you knew this or not.
Uh, former Golden Corral employee right here,
Roy Wood Jr.
-NOAH: You're lying. -Tallahassee, Florida.
Tallahassee, Florida, North Monroe Street.
-You worked at Golden Corral? -1999 to 2001, baby.
I been in them trenches.
Never seen nothing like that in my life.
But I was calm when I was watching the video.
No panic.
Did you think people were gonna get hurt?
-Yeah. -No. Nobody was gonna get hurt in that fight.
-Have you eaten at a buffet in America? -Yeah.
Okay, then you know-- this is the knife.
I stole a lot of knives when I worked at Golden Corral.
This is a authentic buffet knife
from a traditional American buffet restaurant.
I want you to see the tip right there.
Dull. Can't stab nobody.
You can't get no poke action with that.
So nobody was gonna die in that.
You can't saw nobody to death at a buffet fight.
That's the one thing that I really appreciated
about that video is that nobody was on the ground.
That's the thing, also, like,
and for you to talk about Waffle House,
don't put Golden Corral's name in the same bucket
-as Waffle House. -Well, I didn't mean to offend anybody.
I know you love, like, fast food.
It's the-- little offended, bro.
-I'm sorry. -Because Waffle House fights are one on one.
Golden Corral is a family experience.
And you look at that tape, everybody's fighting.
Family coming together.
Still unified. Even in violence,
Golden Corral on mission, bro.
I didn't notice that, and I'm sorry for lumping them all in.
-Very disrespectful. Very disrespectful. -I apologize.
Also, lot of different... different races in there.
-Lot of white people in that fight, too. -I noticed that.
That was the thing that I appreciated,
Was that Black History Month, white people, allies,
fighting with-- well, not with Black people--
against-- in the same fight.
-In the same fight. -About the same thing.
-Pretty much. Yeah, man. -Yeah.
But yeah, I got my nametag, man. It's the one thing I kept.
I never quit Golden Corral, 'cause you never know.
You just left?
I kind of just, I told them I'd be back.
So technically, you have two bosses right...
You've got, like, me, and then someone at Golden Corral
who's like, "Yeah, Roy works for me as well."
Yeah, his name's Kim McCracken.
-Damn, Roy. -Put this on real quick in case he see me.
'Cause he needs to know that I'm on the clock.
I can get my bread.
All right, well, I guess you learn something new
about your friends every day.
Well, you know what? Let's take a quick break.
Um, and when we come back, we'll look at all the exciting ways
that you can get rid of your corpse.
You don't want to miss it.
I didn't think... I didn't think you don't have another job...
-(phone ringing) -Hang on. This... this is Golden Corral.
Hey, Mr. McCracken. What's going on?
I'm on my way.
Yes, sir.
Bring me back a starter, please, Roy.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
We have all experienced supply chain issues recently, right?
You order something, it doesn't arrive on time--
it's happening to everything.
Some groceries are harder to find.
Cars are harder to buy.
And I was supposed to have a studio audience by now,
but, apparently, they're stuck on a container ship
off the coast of California.
But, believe it or not, these supply chain issues
might affect you even after you're dead.
NEWSMAN: From the pandemic to quarries closing,
businesses that make monuments for grave sites
are having trouble getting granite.
CONNER: A lot of the products that we sell,
it's mined in India or Brazil or Italy.
And when they all shut down,
they weren't sending anything out.
MAN: This originally would take,
oh, maybe two months to get.
Now eight months.
Okay, before we move on, can I just say for a second
I love a gravestone that shows someone's priorities.
You know, like, most of the time, it's like "loving father,"
"devoted husband," but then this dude was just like,
"Screw you, family. I'll be playing golf with Jesus."
And, I'm sorry, but eight months is too long
to wait for a gravestone.
I mean, after eight months,
how are you even gonna remember where you buried the person?
"All right, everyone,
"you guys all remember this leaf and what it looks like, okay?
"We'll come put the gravestone here in eight months.
"You got it, everybody? It's a orange leaf,
with a little tinge of yellow. Something like that."
So, obviously, this is extremely inconvenient
for a lot of people.
But it got me thinking--
like, maybe this gravestone problem
could be an opportunity to reexamine
how modern society handles the dead.
Because it's actually kind of a big problem,
starting with cemeteries.
Because, yes, cemeteries are the number one place
goth kids go to make out,
but it turns out they're also getting more crowded
than a Boris Johnson quarantine party.
NEWSWOMAN: We've got a grave issue on your hands.
As the world's population increases
and becomes increasingly urban,
the cities of the world are running out of room
to bury their dead.
NEWSWOMAN 2: In France, cemeteries in big cities
are overcrowded.
NEWSMAN: In L.A.'s rapidly filling cemeteries,
some family plots being listed at over a million dollars.
New bylaws passed in Vancouver will allow
the city's only cemetery
to bury multiple unrelated people in the same grave.
NEWSWOMAN 3: This means that up to three people
who want to participate will be able to share a grave.
Okay, okay.
Getting buried with two other people?
I mean, that raises a few questions from my side.
Like... like, what is the body arrangement?
You know? Are we-- are we stacking them like pancakes
or are we dropping them in vertical like crayons?
Or are they spooning?
'Cause, I mean, if we're spooning,
that's cool and everything. I just want to know
who's gonna be the big spoon.
'Cause I don't mind doing it for a while,
but I'm not gonna do it for eternity.
I want to be cuddled, too. You know?
Plus, my arm's gonna be dead.
Like dead dead.
And I know a lot of people right now might be like,
"Trevor, you can't be putting dead bodies
"on top of each other.
what about their dignity?"
Yeah, but think about it. Have you been to New York?
People are already stackingly living on top of each other.
I mean, if we have to have roommates,
why not the dead?
And, look, I get wanting to be buried
in the city that you lived in.
I understand that. You know, it makes it easier
for your loved ones to come and visit your grave,
and you have a shorter commute
when you go to haunt them every night.
But the fact is cities are running out of space.
And it's not even just a space issue,
because now we're learning that traditional burial methods
also leave behind a toxic trail
for the people who are still living.
Right now, what most Americans consider
a traditional burial takes a big toll on the environment.
About 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluid are used
in U.S. burials each year.
NEWSMAN: A typical body requires three pounds
of this formalin solution and sends 120 gallons
of untreated funeral waste directly into the sewage system,
including blood, fecal matter, organ fluid
and carcinogenic chemicals,
as well as whatever unknown diseases the body contains.
An option that's becoming more popular
in the U.S. is cremation,
but despite its apparent minimalism,
cremation is resource-intensive, too.
It takes around 28 gallons of fuel
to turn just one person into ash.
NEWSMAN 2: You're heating a body for two hours
up to 1,800 degrees.
You're releasing pollutants into the atmosphere,
most significantly mercury.
NEWSMAN 3: Each year, cremations in the United States
release the same amount of CO2 as 70,000 cars.
Yeah, it turns out all that stuff that we do
to dead bodies is super bad for the environment.
I mean, I guess, on the plus side,
all the toxic shit we dump into the sewers
is gonna make some cool, new Ninja Turtles,
but aside from that, it is pretty disturbing.
And by the way, I don't know about you,
but this really makes me look differently at the Mafia.
You know, all this time, I thought
throwing bodies into the river was just a way
to cover up their crimes, but it turns out,
they just really care
(with accent): about the environment.
So our modern burial rituals come with a lot of baggage.
There's the space issue, there's the environment,
and I haven't even gotten to how awkward it is
to tip the gravedigger.
Thanks for burying Nana.
Here's a... a dollar? $300?
I don't know, man. This is weird.
And while traditional burials aren't going away any time soon,
there are more and more sustainable alternatives
out there for people who decide to think outside the coffin.
NEWSWOMAN: Around the world, there's a growing movement
to make funeral practices more sustainable.
NEWSWOMAN 2: One of these is a process called "Aquamation,"
that is essentially a way of dissolving a body,
and uses a heated bath of potassium hydroxide
and water that can be safely disposed down the drain.
NEWSMAN: It's more environmentally friendly
since there's zero toxin emissions,
and it has about one tenth
of the carbon footprint as a cremation.
NEWSWOMAN 3: Washington state governor Jay Inslee
just signed a law making it the first state
allowing human composting.
Or turning a body into soil,
recomposition is the ultimate green way to go,
using an eighth of the energy of cremation.
NEWSMAN 2: And there are other options.
The Infinity Burial Suit,
a shroud that helps the body decompose.
Or the Ecopod, where your body becomes the root of a new tree.
Now that's how I want to go out.
What? Ecopod, you hear that?
I want that. I die, they turn me into a tree.
I grow. I provide for the community with my fruits,
provide shade for the kids when they play.
Then when I get old, they chop me down
and turn me into toilet paper.
Then... I get in that ass, Cindy! Yeah!
You said I had zero chance,
but now you're wiping your ass with me.
I'm in there, girl. I played the long game.
No, seriously, I actually like this idea of a green burial.
I mean, yeah, it's good for the environment and all that,
but it'll also help you flex on everyone else
when you get to heaven.
Oh, you got buried?
Yeah, I just thought that that was kind of bad
for the environment, so I was melted in acid instead.
I guess I'm just a little bit better
than you are as a person...
(gasps) Mr. Rogers.
Well, anyway, for more on the alternatives
to traditional burials, we turn now
to our burial expert, Ronny Chieng.
Hey, uh, first off,
Happy Lunar New Year, Ronny.
Yeah, well, thanks for making me come to work
to talk about death. That's not bad luck at all.
Oh. My bad. I-I guess I didn't think about that. Sorry.
Well, what a surprise.
But at least I got a chance to pick up
some flowers for Valentine's Day, eh?
They're just sitting out here for free.
I-I don't think they're free.
Ronny, I think someone left them there for-for the dead.
Yeah, exactly. What a waste.
Just like this entire cemetery, wasted on the dead.
I mean, this is prime real estate.
Look, right here, this could be a Cheesecake Factory.
And over here, this this could be another Cheesecake Factory.
Look, you do have a point.
T-There's all sorts of alternatives to cemeteries.
Like, for instance, human composting or aquamation.
Yeah, I don't know what any of those words mean.
Trevor, here's what I think, okay?
We need to stop throwing away perfectly good bodies,
and we need to start using them!
I don't like where this is going.
Yeah, I don't just mean sex stuff, okay?
There's all sorts of things a dead body can be used for.
Like, think about it,
how many times have you watched Law & Order and thought,
"That's not even a real dead body"?
I've never thought that once, Ronny.
Well, trust me. When you see as many dead bodies
as I have, you become a real stickler for details, okay?
But, but fine. Forget Law & Order.
How many times have you been stuck in traffic? Huh?
Huh? You get a dead body,
now you're cruising to work in the carpool lane.
Wouldn't we be worried about the police seeing you
with a dead body in your car?
(scoffs) That's why you only use dead white bodies,
so you don't get pulled over.
Right. And that makes sense.
The point is, I've got a ton of ideas for dead bodies.
Okay, look. Uh... okay, uh,
scarecrows, uh, all-natural mannequins at the Gap, uh,
sex stuff-- that was your idea-- uh...
Oh, put one in the foyer, so if a murderer comes to your house,
he'll think somebody already beat him to it.
Uh, okay, what else? Uh...
sell one as an NFT?
Wait, w-w-wait, wait. What? An NFT? How...
I don't know! People just keep yelling at me about NFTs,
all right? It can't be any dumber
than an ape that looks like Gwyneth Paltrow.
Yeah, I don't-I don't get the apes. B-B-But... (sighs)
Let me ask you this. Which one of these things, like,
these new techniques, do you want us to do with your body?
(scoffs) Oh, my body? Oh, no. None of them.
I'm going full mausoleum, covered in gold. I'm thinking
ten bedroom, ten bath and you'll have a Cheesecake Factory in it.
That actually sounds great, Ronny.
I bet you can't wait to be dead.
Whoa. That's like, the worst thing you could say
on Lunar New Year to someone, all right?
That's disgusting.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-I-- Um, I'll say something else. Um...
Uh... (speaks Cantonese)
Oh, my God. Your pronunciation is even worse.
Just wish I die.
I'm sorry-- I-um... You know what? Let's take a break.
And when we come back, I'll be talking to
Bakari Sellers. He'll be here to talk about his new book,
that is just in time for Black History Month.
So stay tuned.
Is it that bad?
(speaking Cantonese)
Chinese: it's racist, even when you try.
Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight
is civil rights attorney and CNN political commentator
Bakari Sellers.
He's here to talk about his new children's book
Who Are Your People?
Bakari Sellers, welcome to The Daily Show.
Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here in person.
-Yeah, in person, right? -Yes.
There's a lot of people I'm meeting now for the first time,
and I go, like, "I've met you." And it's like,
-"Oh, no, I met you virtually." -You look much more handsome
-in person than virtually. Yeah. -Thank you very much.
Thank you. You're more taller than I thought you were.
You could've said "handsome."
I-I mean, I don't want to give the compliment back to you.
-Okay. Fair enough. -You know what I mean?
It feels-- Then it feels like I'm recycling.
So I was trying to think of a-another thing
-I noticed about you that wasn't looks-related. -(chuckling)
-Um... (chuckles) welcome to the show. -I'm glad to be here.
Uh, you've-you've lived a really interesting life.
You know? Because there was a moment in your career
where people genuinely thought you were going to be
one of the next new faces of the Democratic Party
-in this country. You know? -Yeah.
You-you served for-- I think it was eight years
-in-in the state legislature. -Yes.
And, uh, people were just like,
"Oh, this guy's going all the way.
"We-we see what he's doing, you know?
"He's from a civil rights family.
-He-He's really in tune with what's happening." -Yeah.
And then you were like, "Nope, I'm done with this."
-What-what happened? -(chuckles) I don't know if it was
"I'm done with it," but I think
that having an opportunity right now to be a father
and be a husband, uh, I've realized
are my two most important jobs.
-Hmm. -And then, um, being able to-to utilize my platform
to lift people up and write books now--
This is my second book.
It's my second opportunity
to be on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
um, there's just so much that I can do.
And when that opportunity presents itself,
um, you know, when Jim Clyburn retires, maybe,
will I get back in that political scrum, maybe.
But, I mean, Trevor,
would you want to go to Congress and serve
and have less seniority than Marjorie Taylor Greene
-or, uh, Matt Gaetz or Madison Cawthorn? -(laughing)
Like, this is not an appetizing thing
when you think about the American political system
we have today, so-- I think I may get back out there.
But, right now, I just want to take care
of my kids and my wife.
Let's talk about the book.
Who Are Your People?
A wonderful title that could be, um, interpreted the wrong way.
-(chuckling) -You know? 'Cause-'cause, in America,
at-at least, it's very uncomfortable when people say,
like, "Where you from? Who are your people?"
-Yeah. -'Cause people have used it as-- you know, as,
-you know... -Uh, down south, there's a colloquialism
that, when you meet people for the first time,
like when I met my-my, uh, daughter's boyfriend--
-she's 16-- you're like, "Who are your people?" -Uh-huh.
'Cause you get the know-- you want to know,
uh, where their family is from,
um, where they-- what type of stock they come from.
-Right, right, right. -And so "Who are your people?" is-is
just trying to get people to understand where you come from.
And I wrote this book because I wanted--
Personally, I was sick and tired of my twins having to see
purple people or blue people on TV.
-(laughing) -I wanted them to be able to see
people that look like them,
-like the movie Encanto, for example. -Right, right.
And in this book, they're able to see them
and their people and have a sense of pride.
And I think when young Black and brown kids read it,
they'll get a sense of pride.
When white kids read it, they'll get a sense of empathy.
And to your point earlier in the conversation,
we live in a country where we have an empathy deficit,
where people no longer care
-about the struggles and plight of others. -Mm-hmm.
And maybe this is some utopia that I'm living in
or youthful naivety, but I firmly believe
there's more that brings us together than divides us,
but we have to embrace those differences.
In the book, you... You know, when they said,
"Okay, Bakari's coming on with a book,"
I was like, "Okay, great. I love his previous books."
-I have pictures for you. -Yeah, and then, they were like,
"There's pictures now." I was like, "Oh, it's a kids book."
And then I... and then I started reading through it,
and then I was like, "Wow." It's a kids book, but, I mean,
there's parts of the book, where, you know,
Black people are sitting at, like, the lunch counter,
and they're just getting shouted at,
and there's signs that say "No Negroes except..."
I was like, "Wow. This is one hell of a children's book."
And then I starting thinking. I was, like, two things.
One-- I was like, "You know, some people are gonna be like,
'Oh, man, is this what you want to teach kids?'"
And the other people might go,
"Oh, you know this book's gonna get banned
in a bunch of places soon, right?"
Well, that image that you're talking about is one
of my two favorite images.
It's actually a real image from February 1, 1960
at the Woolworths lunch counter where students
from North Carolina A&T State Universities kicked off
the sit-in movement.
And I wanted to have that history and that...
those lessons in the book.
And maybe if you're an adult reading it,
it refreshes your memory, you can teach more about it.
But, yeah, I mean, people are...
They're banning Michelle Obama's books in Texas right now.
-Wow. -I mean, you know, people are talking
about this book, a picture book, being critical race theory.
It's absolutely not critical race theory,
but it's getting caught up
in all of this utter anti-intellectual B.S.,
-is the best way that I can phrase it. -Mm-hmm.
Because what's wrong with kids learning about who they are?
What's wrong with kids learning about
where other kids came from, and being proud of that?
I don't see anything wrong, and it...
And hopefully, it teaches a new generation to dream.
It feels like it comes out at a perfect time, as well,
not just because of what's happening
in the conversation around books,
-but because of Black History Month, you know? -Yeah.
Black History Month is one of the most interesting times
to observe, especially when you come from outside of America.
You know, 'cause where I'm from, it's always Black History Month.
-You know. (laughs) -(laughs) I want to come there.
You're welcome. You're welcome. Um...
"Every day is Black History Month" needs to be...
-No. Really. -...needs to be your slogan.
You need to work on that marketing.
It really is an interesting... interesting thing to understand.
As somebody who has worked with some of the most
devastated families in this country as they've dealt with,
um, civil rights abuses, as they've dealt with hate crimes,
-you know-- -Yeah.
what do you think Black history should be about?
I think we need to understand when Carter G. Woodson
founded Negro History Week and chose February,
uh, he did it because of the birthdays
of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas,
two of his heroes at the time, and that's how we ended up
-in Black... in February for Black History... -Mm-hmm.
Negro History Week and Black History Month.
For me, it's about the richness of a culture,
the perseverance, and overcoming.
If you're talking about slavery and oppression,
400 years, Jim Crow.
Uh, my father literally went to segregated schools.
My mother was a part of the...
her desegregating class in high school.
This isn't generations ago.
We're talking about pain, but we're also
talking about the triumph of overcoming.
And so there's a lot to be proud of, but if people
don't recognize that pain, then they can never understand
the struggle of what it is to be Black in America.
There-there seems to be, um,
a paradox for some people in understanding
the, um, the duality of being Black.
You know, like, some people think Black people
can only exist in a state of pain and suffering
and those people just, "Oh, I'm so sorry that you're Black,
-I-I... It must be so hard all the time." -Yeah.
And then there are some people who exist
almost in a state of being like,
"Oh, get over it, nothing happened. There's..."
And I always try to explain to people-- I go, like,
"No it's about understanding all of it."
-The whole-the whole person. -Right.
And-and, like, you know, the... I think
most perverse phrase we have in politics right now--
and I hate when people teach young people to be color-blind.
I don't want you to be color-blind. Like...
I mean, I-I want you to be able to see the richness
-of my culture, everything I bring. -Right, right.
I want you to see the fact that, yes,
I've cried tears when Trayvon Martin was killed
or-or when George Floyd was murdered,
but I've also, uh, recognized
that we have a great history
of overcoming in this country. Uh, in...
A lot of people disagree me... disagree with me
on this premise, but I fundamentally don't think
-there's anything irredeemable about this country. -Mm-hmm.
I fundamentally believe we have to reimagine
what she looks like to be a more inclusive America
-that includes all of us. -But what's interesting
is how many times Black people fought for their progress
in the country because of the rules that it had written
for not them. You know what I mean? It's-it's...
-an interesting paradox. -It's a bounced check.
And I think King said it best. I mean, it's...
Someone wrote down a promise to give the people this.
-Right. -And then it bounced.
They knew... It was insufficient funds.
And so here we are. We're trying to...
we're trying to reclaim what you promised us in that check.
And so what you're saying is you're hopeful,
you believe that there's a chance that America could
be able to pay the amount on that check.
I believe so. I believe America right now
is a unfulfilled, broken promise to so many people,
whether or not you're Muslim, immigrants, gay,
Black, a woman in this country, it's a...
it is a bounced check and a unfulfilled promise.
However, I still have faith in tomorrow.
Wow. Look at that.
-I can run for office with that. -You should, man.
"I still have faith in tomorrow." Bakari Sellers.
"I still have faith in tomorrow."
South Africa: every day is Black History Month.
-You know what I'm talking about. -I love it.
Look at this-- we're running campaigns right here, man.
-Marketing. -You let me know when you're going back
into politics, and I will be right behind you,
not following you, but just cheering you on.
-Just cheering me on from... -Thank you so much for joining
-me on the show. -Thank you, brother, glad to be here.
Appreciate you. Who Are Your People?
is available wherever books are sold.
We're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
Yeah, man, I love it, thank you very much.
Well, that's our show for tonight, but before we go--
please consider supporting the Loveland Foundation.
They're an organization dedicated to providing
therapy services to underserved communities,
especially Black women and girls.
If you want to support them in their work,
then please donate at the link below.
Until tomorrow, stay safe out there,
get your vaccine, and remember,
if someone cuts in front of you at the Golden Corral,
you don't fistfight them--
wait until they're a tree and you pee on them.
Play the long game.
Now, here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
♪ ♪
NEWSWOMAN: Happy Lunar New Year.
It's now the Year of the Tiger.
So, it's the Year of the Tiger, is what I'm learning.
(growls)
The Year of the Tiger.
-Roar! -All right.
-Ladies... -Was that our cue to roar?
-(laughing) -Roar...!
Which year are you?
Uh, fifty-- I think I'm a rat or a pig or something.
I was the Year of the Rat?
I should know this. I don't know this.
I'm a snake. I was born in the Year of the Snake.
I don't think snakes and tigers get along.
If you're seen The Jungle Book, you know.
Nobody gets along with a snake.
NEWSWOMAN: What is a boar? Ninety...?
Is there a Year of the Elephant?
-No. -No? 'Cause I can make that sound.
(trumpets)